wednesday evenings

Lonely as dusk Cars graze idle all along the lane making you brake to see what the craic is

The lights are on in Noctors and as you push the door open it's swollen with bodies, voices,glasses,"How you doings ?" wading through to the bar, "A couple of glasses Mary, please" Conspiratorily she swaps me a smile, saying softly "There's some music and some dancin on in a while"

More folk pour inside as if determined to surface in The Guinness Book ofRecords even the fire can't compete with this body heat as the jars slide down, Jimmy starts up on the squeezebox, kneading life into it's lungs, it revives and flies through his fingers. Dave bowls in with his bodhran, giving an answer back

The crowd parts, Red Sea like, to clear a space, "Room please!" for the dancers, who suddenly reveal themselves. Fast as castanets they heel and toe across the floor and your man spins a woman around by her arm, Neither of them young things but now they're 17 again, being who they once were.

We're all clapping in rhythm with their time, urging them on, urging them on, her cheeks flaming, sweat bursting his brow, as breathlessly, they spiral to some secret other place

Later we walk out into the cool long night leaving the music behind In the porter drenched sky stars are scattered like salmon shoals